The present invention is directed to a toilet lifting and transporting device and more specifically to a wheeled frame adapted to straddle the toilet, lift the toilet upon pivotal movement of the frame and subsequently transport the toilet.
In the placement or replacement of toilet bowls of the type bolted on the floor with a water tank mounted on a rearwardly extending flange, the plumber is faced with a number of problems. The toilet bowls are heavy and awkward and have to be lifted and accurately positioned in a bathroom, either when they are installed or removed for repair or replacement. Because of the restricted space, the plumber is subject to strain and there is a danger that the bowl will be broken by dropping or bumping it. When the bowl is repositioned or removed for repair, the problems are increased by the presence of water in the bowl or tank resulting in extra weight and the possibility of spillage.
A number of toilet bowl handling and transporting devices have been devised in the past. U.S. Pat. No. 3,391,905 discloses such a device which is comprised of a U-shaped base frame mounted on casters for transporting the handling apparatus. An elevating jack is mounted on the middle rear portion of the base frame and a main carrying boom is mounted on the jack for carrying the weight of a toilet bowl. A fixed clamping assembly is mounted on the free end of the carrying boom and is provided with clamp projections for overlying the upper flange of the toilet bowl and forwardly facing movable clamping jaws for insertion under the flange of the toilet bowl on the inside of the toilet bowl. After the clamping assembly is secured to the toilet bowl with the U-shaped frame straddling the base of the toilet, the jack is operated to raise the boom and thereby lift the toilet from the floor. Thus a number of screw operated clamps and a screw operated jack must be provided, which adds to the cost and complexity of the apparatus.
Other U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,262,790, 4,722,511 and 5,203,065 all show similar types of toilet lifting devices, each of which has a lifting jack mounted on the base frame for raising and lowering toilet bowl engaging members. Due to the complexity of the devices, the devices are expensive to build and complicated to operate.
In an unrelated field, a mobile desk lifter is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,937,850. In this patent, a foldable platform comprised of two planar sections is provided, each having complementary edges hinged together at a center joint. Each of the sections is provided on its underside with a pair of universally mounted wheels positioned remotely from the hinged joint. With the planar sections folded upwardly about the hinge, the lifter can be inserted into the knee hole space of a desk with the opposite ends of the platform disposed underneath each set of drawers. Upon exerting downward foot pressure on the hinge joint, the respective platforms will pivot about the wheels thereon and raise the desk until the two planar sections are disposed and locked in a horizontal plane. While such a lifting device is uniquely efficient for lifting and transporting desks of the type having a knee hole and two drawer pedestals, such a device would be totally incompatible with the configuration of a toilet.